Finance Bill

Amendments 17 to 29 make a number of technical changes to schedule 9 of clause 25 to ensure that ...

I rise to speak to amendments 52 and 53, standing in my name and the names of my hon. Friends the...

Allow me now to turn to amendments 52 and 53, in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for West W...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

The Opposition’s new clause 10 challe...

Is the hon. Lady suggesting that the Government should be borrowing even more billions of pounds ...

I am pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman suggesting that those on the Government Benches are consi...

I support new clause 10 because it is really important to see whether the measures in the spendin...

I thank my hon. Friend for that interjection, which gets to the crux of the matter. The Chancello...

My reading of the new clause is that the review would have to be placed in the House of Commons L...

Indeed, it is very much the hope that the Government will shine this laser focus on measures to b...

How does the hon. Lady think she could work out the true implications and effect of the spending ...

That is an interesting question because the new clause suggests that the review should be publish...

Does the hon. Lady recognise that one of the biggest effects of the spending review will be on lo...

I am pleased that we have the hon. Gentleman’s support in principle for the fact that the Governm...

My hon. Friend has mentioned local government cuts. According to my reading of the spending revie...

The purpose of the proposed review is to encourage the Government to become laser-focused on the ...

My hon. Friend is, again, making a powerful speech. Is it not the case that 1% growth since 2010 ...

My hon. Friend has made a very good point. I should be interested to hear the Minister’s response...

The hon. Lady has referred several times to the impact of Government policy on jobs. Does she not...

I acknowledge what the hon. Gentleman has said, but I do not think that it can be linked to the e...

The fact is that the employment rate is lower now than it was in 2008. Absolute numbers mean noth...

Order. The debate is, to put it politely, starting to go a little wide of the new clause. Perhaps...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I think that my hon. Friend has made an important point. Wha...

On a point of clarification, if the hon. Lady’s party was in government, would it be cutting VAT?...

Well, I am pleased that the Minister is engaging with the need to review his own Government’s spe...

My hon. Friend was speaking about the spending review’s failure in respect of living standards, a...

Yes. My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, and it highlights the complacency of this Government....

I just want to give the hon. Lady another opportunity to answer the simple question I asked. The ...

The Government clearly do not support that approach because one of the first things they did when...

My hon. Friend is stating the case for this new clause very clearly. Does she agree that the incr...

Yes, it was a huge blow for families across the country to see costs spiral overnight. This Gover...

May I press the hon. Lady for a third time on the question my hon. Friend the Minister has been a...

It is very strange that Government Members, who are in power and making the spending decisions th...

I came in to support my hon. Friend in pushing for new clause 10, which focuses on the impact of ...

To be fair, and to stay laser-focused on the new clause, I should say that we hope and envisage t...

My hon. Friend rightly talks about how few of the Government’s priority infrastructure projects h...

That is another absolute failure in terms of the promises made by this Government that are simply...

My hon. Friend is making a crucial point about the impact on jobs. I had hoped that the spending ...

My hon. Friend makes his point very powerfully. It is a fact that a number of jobs have been lost...

My hon. Friend is right when she talks about the implications of the Government’s failure to inve...

My hon. Friend tempts me to suggest a less than honourable motive for our tabling the new clause....

The hon. Lady has made the link between infrastructure and its impact on the construction industr...

I would welcome any signs of positivity in economic growth from any sector of our economy, especi...

I think construction is an incredibly important part of the economy, so I think it is right that ...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Ultimately, it is about what we hear in our communities ...

I am very pleased to hear my hon. Friend highlight the important role that HMRC plays in our econ...

My hon. Friend raises a very important point. I have tabled several parliamentary questions to th...

My hon. Friend’s question to the Government is incredibly important and I hope we hear an answer....

My hon. Friend makes an important point. The Bill Committee debated at some length the fact that ...

The hon. Lady talks about the importance of clamping down on tax avoidance, and the hon. Member f...

The hon. Gentleman seems to be expressing some consternation about his Chancellor’s new shares fo...

Given the hon. Lady’s response to my previous intervention, I wanted to clarify the issue of John...

Order. Mr Sawford, I do not need your help in chairing the debate in the Chamber today. I have do...

It is open to the Government to support our proposed review of spending round 2013 and the impact...

I will try to say something positive about new clause 10. It is quite laudable, in a way, because...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Southport (John Pugh), who began by underscoring h...

Every Budget begins with the Chancellor giving a résumé of the implications of his policies. I ca...

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Chancellors sometimes glance back at the effect of their B...

The coalition has more or less mirrored the capital spending plans of the former Labour Chancello...

If we move away from the rhetoric and look at the facts, we will see that in their first three ye...

It is always a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin). I agree w...

It is interesting to hear the hon. Lady refer to the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed...

I am afraid I totally disagree with the hon. Gentleman, but I thank him for his intervention. Per...

There is a thing called “chutzpah”. Is the hon. Lady saying that her party bears no responsibilit...

Order. Mr Newmark, this is not an opportunity for you to make a speech; it was an intervention on...

On the hon. Gentleman’s final point, there is more to come in my speech: “And there’s more”, I pr...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I will not give way now, as I want to carry on with my argument. There may be an opportunity ...

New clause 10 asks for a review of the impact on tax revenues of the measures set out in the 2013...

rose—

Unless the hon. Gentleman is going to bring it back.

One of the frustrations for my constituents is hearing the Government give highly political answe...

If the hon. Gentleman accepts the OBR numbers, he really ought to accept the OBR analysis of why ...

Will the Minister give way?

I will give way, to get the hon. Lady’s answer on VAT. Does she favour cutting it or not?

I was hoping to leave the Minister time to respond to some of the serious concerns that we have r...

It is clear that the balance of our plan has focused much more on current spending, as compared w...

I beg to move amendment 57, page 15, line 16, at end insert—

‘(2) Notwithstanding the provi...

With this it will be convenient to discuss Government amendments 30 to 34.

I am tempted to start by saying that I am sure this is the part of this afternoon’s proceedings t...

Does the hon. Lady accept that there are some success stories? In my constituency, for example, t...

I appreciate what the hon. Gentleman says, and I am sure his constituents will appreciate the fac...

Is my hon. Friend aware that of even that paltry number of housing finishes, the Labour Governmen...

I could not have put it better myself. My hon. Friend speaks with great passion and I know that h...

Does my hon. Friend also accept that the heat map for the new homes bonus is completely unfair, b...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. New build is of course important, but so too is bringing...

If it is about getting more for less, the result will be to push up rents, so these so-called aff...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. She spent a long period working on housing issues in Sco...

My hon. Friend raises an important point. People were promised that there would be one-for-one re...

My hon. Friend puts his point powerfully on the record. His phrase, one for nine, will perhaps hi...

Does my hon. Friend agree that if we built environmentally friendly, small, local authority bunga...

My hon. Friend makes another very good point. I know of areas where elderly people would welcome ...

Elderly accommodation is a chronic problem in my constituency and other areas. Does my hon. Frien...

I cannot answer for the Government, but I would have thought that any Government reflecting on th...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will, but only briefly because I am on my last words.

My hon. Friend has made some valuable points in what is an excellent speech. Does she agree that ...

I do not think that we need to worry about that. We should stick to the amendment.

Thank you for that guidance, Mr Deputy Speaker. I had feared that the Exchequer Secretary would j...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I suspect that the hon. Gentleman wants to stray into the territory where Mr Deputy Speaker has s...

My hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson), in her powerful speech, po...

I wonder whether my hon. Friend would elucidate more for the benefit of us younger Members.

There was an office block speculator called Harry Hyams. Those were the days when people could bu...

Order. We are trying to deal with an amendment. Going down memory lane is all very well, Centre P...

You are right, of course, Mr Deputy Speaker.

We are here to stand up for the people we repr...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that homelessness today is at its lowest for the past 30 years? It ha...

I prefer to rely on statistics from the hon. Gentleman’s Government: homelessness has risen by 30...

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. One sad thing that I reflect on is that a lot of property ...

My hon. Friend is right. We call it protection for good tenants and landlords alike; the Governme...

I hate to throw facts at the hon. Gentleman, but 421,000 social homes were lost under the previou...

Let me spell out the facts: 2 million new homes; 1 million more mortgage holders; half a million ...

Does my hon. Friend share my perplexity about the figure for the amount of homes lost that Govern...

Indeed, when the former Housing Minister, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps...

Another explanation for the loss of units under the previous Government is that, because they wer...

My hon. Friend is right: tough decisions had to be made. All of us in our constituencies have see...

My hon. Friend makes a valid point regarding going from First Buy to homebuy to Help to Buy. When...

Those of us on the Opposition Benches stand for homes for all; the Government stand for homes for...

Is my hon. Friend as disturbed as I am by the Government’s failure to deliver on their promise to...

We have been strong supporters of self-build. The Government have promised a great deal on self-b...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. I have to criticise the Government for the fact that ...

I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend. As I said earlier, if we had a house for every press stat...

The hon. Gentleman is making some powerful points, and I entirely agree with him on the need for ...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. All the benefits that I have referred to, plus others, wo...

My hon. Friend has made a powerful point. The Government’s policy is totally focused on an under-...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. This is not just about new build, where appropriate; it is als...

I have listened very carefully and I understand the logic of what the hon. Gentleman has said. My...

What is happening for certain is that the country is paying the price of failure, with £245 billi...

My hon. Friend is making a very powerful speech. Is it not the case that the £25 billion that goe...

I would make two points in response. First, the single biggest factor that would make a differenc...

Let me begin by drawing attention to my interests as declared in the Register of Members’ Financi...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Treasury does not seem to be taking account of evidence ...

I entirely agree. As my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Erdington pointed out, it is impor...

Sometimes the issue of private rents is presented as though it involved people living in mansions...

My hon. Friend has made a fair point about the fact that the rise in rent levels means that many ...

My right hon. Friend is making some very powerful points. The private rented housing market is ve...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point that again illustrates just how dire the consequences of c...

I agree with what my right hon. Friend is saying. Does he agree that there would be a particular ...

I entirely agree. I happen to be the president of Youthbuild UK, which is one of the bodies that ...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is an indictment of the Government’s shambolic housing po...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for highlighting that, because it is a cause of real concern that...

My right hon. Friend is talking about the ending of schemes. Does he agree that this is not just ...

The thrust of my whole speech is about the importance of the Government finding more effective me...

My right hon. Friend is making a strong argument about the new homes bonus, which is top-sliced f...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. The NAO made an absolutely damning comment—I am astonishe...

My right hon. Friend has put his finger on it. There is not an economic rationale for the policy,...

My right hon. Friend, as always, is very acute and he realises that this is a political move. The...

May I tempt my right hon. Friend to reflect on one other aspect of the subject he just touched on...

My right hon. Friend makes a valid point, and it is a further argument for the serious and thorou...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way once again. Will he congratulate my local La...

My hon. Friend makes a valid point and highlights the fact that throughout the country, there are...

It is a pleasure to return this debate to the amendments to clause 38 and schedule 18 of the Fina...

I hoped the Minister would understand that the nature of the debate reflected Opposition Members’...

The hon. Lady can rest assured that I will address that very point, if not necessarily every poin...

Will the Minister give way?

No, I want to give the hon. Lady a moment or two at the end of the debate to respond to the point...

I find myself in the same slightly pained position that the Minister described. He said no so nic...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Hon. Members might not have spotted t...

Does the shadow Minister not recognise that the abolition of the reserve tax will be a great enha...

I commend the hon. Gentleman for doing his duty to his constituents in the City of London. I conf...

Would the shadow Minister be willing to extend his new clause to ensure that it takes into accoun...

Times are tough, and for most people in the country life is getting harder. I confess, however, t...

Yet again I am back on my old hobby-horse about the economy. If this measure is passed and people...

Dare I say that my hon. Friend knows the answer to his question? I do not think it will make a bl...

My hon. Friend is making a strong point. Does he, like me, think that people will be bemused by t...

We had that debate on a financial transaction tax a few weeks ago. I think we managed to extricat...

My hon. Friend has already pointed out that this £150 million saving per year for the very riches...

I am more disappointed that the Government think they can get away with it. I want very much to h...

Does that not contrast sharply with the 2 million people in Britain who are on payday loans? They...

The point is the context in which these things arrive from the Government. Perhaps it is our faul...

I come very much from the school that says that if someone is under a bit of pressure and is stru...

That is the £150 million question. The tax cut is £150 million in the key years, but it goes up t...

I have been provoked to stand up and speak on this outrageous stealth tax, which is an attempt to...

I think that the hon. Gentleman will find that I went to a comprehensive school in Middlesbrough,...

I am sorry that the right hon. Gentleman no longer has any school friends. Those who have abandon...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Of course. I was wondering whether the mumbling man was listening to anything, but I shall certai...

There is of course always a temptation not to listen when the hon. Gentleman is on his feet. Does...

It is interesting to see that the hon. Gentleman has changed from his red braces to blue braces—a...

This has been an astonishing debate. I have a lot of time for the hon. Member for Nottingham East...

The Financial Secretary is characterising the Opposition as if we were somehow denigrating the in...

I shall come to that. The hon. Gentleman professed not to recognise the problem that existed. As ...

My right hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and I am listening with great interest. Is the...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. He is absolutely right. Already 81% of investors in UK f...

rose—

I want to conclude now. I hope that the House will welcome, as commentators universally have, a s...

You have to hand it to the Financial Secretary, because he managed to keep a straight face throug...

I beg to move, that the clause be read a Second time.

I am delighted to have the opportunit...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way and I am conscious of the time. Like him, I passionatel...

I very much hope so. That was the clear indication that the Prime Minister gave in his briefing i...

Will my hon. Friend allow me?

I briefly give way to my hon. Friend, who has been a great champion of this measure for many year...

Not just the Prime Minister in a faraway place, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in my own ho...

So the mystery is why on earth it is not happening and the Prime Minister has not been able to sa...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Does he agree that we encourage many things in the ...

And marriage was invented before bicycles, so why do we not support that, recognise it and value ...

Is it not also a matter of fairness and social justice, because the Institute for Fiscal Studies ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I think that that dispels many of the myths being put around ...

rose—

Order. Mr Leslie, please ensure that you leave time in the debate, which will end at 8.19 pm, for...

I will be very brief. I want first to pay tribute to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreh...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

I would rather hear from the Minister.

I think that the right hon. and learned Member for R...

My hon. Friends will be aware that at the last election the Conservative party set out a policy o...

Had we voted on the new clause tonight, I would have voted for it. I encourage the Government to ...

The House will know that I led a debate on this issue in Westminster Hall on 28 November last yea...

Transferable allowances work by families claiming against them for the previous year. Thus this y...

This is simply a matter of justice. There are 2 million families where one partner is working and...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

The Finance Bill 2013 delivers the...

Does the Minister recognise that the 1 million jobs that have been created are allocated dispropo...

It was not that long ago that we were told that the reductions in public sector employment would ...

There was no time to debate new clause 3 on air passenger duty so I will not speak to it, but wil...

We keep all taxes under review. My hon. Friend is a prominent voice on this particular matter and...

I am grateful to the Minister for taking a second intervention so soon after the first. Does he r...

The hon. Lady will be aware that we have made a number of concessions in that area with regard to...

The Minister will be aware that the Silk commission on Wales stated that the Finance Bill would b...

As the hon. Gentleman says, the Government will respond to the report in due course. Further deta...

I agree with the Minister about one thing—it was certainly a long and well-scrutinised Bill. To e...

rose—

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is a former investment manager, but I wonder what his vi...

I am grateful for the shadow Minister’s indulgence in allowing me to intervene, and to answer his...

Fortunately for the hon. Gentleman, but unfortunately for the rest of us, there are still two yea...

In an earlier intervention on the Minister I asked about air passenger duty. In the context of No...

I am sorry that we did not have the opportunity to consider this matter on Report. I think it was...

Order. Can we stop the chuntering from Front Bench to Front Bench while someone is trying to spea...

Madam Deputy Speaker, I am grateful for your protection from the sedentary chuntering of Governme...

The hon. Gentleman mentions the important pursuit of growth. Will he enlighten the House on what ...

We are desperately keen for the Government to bring forward any measures—whether measures on VAT ...

I want to say a few quick words. I thank the Minister and his team for the hard work they have do...